a technique of palpation to detect or examine a floating object in the body. In OB, the fetus, when pushed, floats away and then returns to touch the examiner's fingers

Braxton Hicks Contractions

Intermittent painless contractions of the uterus that may occur every 10 to 20 minutes. Occuring more frequently toward the end of pregnancy and sometimes mistaken for true labor signs

Chadwick's sign

Violet bluish color of the vaginal muscous membrane caused by increased vascularity; visible from about the fourth week of pregnancy

Chloasma (melasma gravidarum)

brownish pigmentation over the bridge of the nose and the cheeks during pregnancy and in some women who are taking contraceptives. also called mask of pregnancy

Colostrum

Secretion from the breast before the onset of true lactation

Couvade

In some cultures, the male's observance of certain rituals and taboos to signify the transition to fatherhood.

Goodell's sign

Softening of the cervix that occurs during the second month of pregnancy

Hegar's sign

A softening of the lower uterine segment found upon palpation in the second or third month of pregnancy

Linea nigra

The line of darker pigmentation extending from the umbilicus to the pubis noted in some women during the later months of pregnancy

McDonald's sign

A probably sign of pregnancy characterized by an ease in flexing the body of the uterus against the cervix

Morning sickness

Term that refers to the nausea and vomiting that a woman may experience in early pregnancy

Mucous plug

a collection of thick mucus that blocks the cervical canal during pregnancy (operculum)

Physiologic anemia of pregnancy

apparent anemia that results because during pregnancy the plasma volume increases more than the erythrocytes increase

Quickening

the first fetal movements felt by the pregnant woman, usually between 16 and 18 weeks gestation

Striae

stretch marks

Supine hypotensive syndrome

a condition that can develop during pregnancy when the enlarging uterus puts pressuer on the vena cava when the woman is supine. This pressure interfers with returning blood flow and produces a marked decrease in blood pressure with accompanying dizziness, pallor, and clamminess, which can be corrected by having the woman lie on her left side

Abortion

loss of pregnancy before teh fetus is viable outside the uterus; miscarriage

Antepartum

time between conception and the onset of labor; during pregnancy

Diagonal conjugate

distance from the lower posterior border of the symphysis pubis to the sacral promontory; may be obtained by manual measurement

Estimated date of Birth (EDB)

During a pregnancy, the approximate date when childbirth will occur; the "due date"

Gestation

period of intrauterine development from conception throug birth; pregnancy

Gravida

a pregnant woman

Intrapartum

the time from the onset of true labor until the birth of the infant and expulsion of the placenta

Multigravida

woman who has been pregnant more than once

Multipara

woman who has had more than one pregnancy in which the fetus was viable

Nagele's rule

a method of determining the estimated date of birth; after obtaining the first day of the last menstrual period, subtract 3 months and add 7 days

Nulligravida

a woman who has never been pregnant

Nullipara

a woman who has not given birth to a viable fetus

Obstetic conjugate

distance from the middle of the sacral promontory to an area appoximately 1 cm below the pubic crest

Para

a woman who has borne offspring who reached the age of viability

Postpartum

Postterm labor

labor that occurs after 42 weeks gestation

Preterm or premature labor

labor occurring between 20 and 38 weeks of prgnancy

Primigravida

a woman who is pregnant for the first time

Primipara

a woman who has given birth to her first child (past the point of viability), wheter or not that child is living or was alive at birth

Risk factors

any findings that suggest the prenancy may have a negative outcome, for wither the woman or her unborn child